Paying for Fertility Treatment: Infertility Insurance

Will your health insurance cover fertility treatment? How do you find out? Can you buy specialized insurance to cover IVF or other fertility treatments? How will the Health Care Reform Act of 2010 change fertility insurance coverage? Our guests to talk about this are Lee Rubin Collins, Co-chair for Advocacy and Vice Chair of the Board of Directors of RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association. A former big-firm lawyer, after her own experience with infertility Lee has dedicated her volunteer time to advocating for the rights and interests of others with infertility. We also have with us Trish Taylor, President and Founder of New Life Insurance Agency, specializing in insurance for all types of assisted reproduction technologies. Last but not least we have Linton White, Chief Operations Officer for Fertility Physicians of Northern California with over 25 years’ experience in health care administrative and physician practice management.

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Hit the Highlights

What states mandate that health insurance policies offer coverage for fertility treatment?
How to determine if your health insurance policy will cover infertility treatment, IUI, or IVF?
How is infertility defined by health insurance policies?
Is infertility treated by health insurance as a medical necessity or an elective procedure?
How can you get coverage for parts of your fertility treatment even if your insurance policy will not cover in vitro fertilization (IVF)?
If your medical insurance policy does not cover treatment how to determine if it will cover the diagnosis of infertility?
Can you change medical insurance after you have been diagnosed with infertility to a policy that covers fertility treatment? Or will your infertility be treated as an existing condition?
How to manage your fertility treatment to maximize your health insurance coverage if your insurance policy limits the number of IVF cycles that will be covered by the insurance policy?
Are there insurance policies that specialize in assisted reproduction?
Can you buy insurance specifically to cover infertility treatment?
Can you buy insurance to cover surrogacy?
What type of insurance do intended parents need when using a gestational carrier / surrogate?
Is insurance necessary when using donor eggs? If so, what type of insurance should you get and who provides this insurance — the intended parents or the egg donation or surrogacy agency?
How do you appeal when your insurance company denies coverage for infertility?
Are appeals of insurance denials for fertility treatment often successful?
How will the Affordable Care Act or the Health Care Reform Act affect medical insurance coverage for fertility treatment?
Will infertility be considered and “essential health benefit” under Obamacare?
Fertility treatment and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA).
How will Healthcare Insurance Reform affect insurance coverage for infertility?
Will Healthcare reform help or hurt insurance coverage for fertility treatment?
Fertility LifeLines is a great resource for answering medical insurance questions about Infertility.